bad breath relief : How Can You Tell If You Have Bad Breath ?
Contrary to popular belief, you can not tell by yourself whether or not you have bad breath. Many people try cupping their hands to their nose to smell exhaled air. Others may try licking and then smelling their wrist.
Unfortunately, these simply do not work. First, the body becomes accustomed to its own odors. As a result, it becomes hard for you to objectively distinguish whether or not your breath odor is foul or not. Secondly, much of the foul breath is created at the back of the mouth and is expelled outward only when we talk.
How then do you tell if your breath offends ? Many dentists measure breath odor using an instrument called a halimeter. The patient blows into a straw like tube connected to the halimeter and the machine detects the levels of volatile sulfur compounds in the breath. The more volatile sulfur compounds measured by the machine the worst the breath.
If you do not want to use a halimeter the next best way to detect bad breath is to simply ask a trusted friend to tell you whether or not your breath is offensive.
The Tongue - Safe Haven for Bacteria
A major advancement in the treatment of bad breath has been the finding that bacteria which causes bad breath can reside on the tongue - especially the back of the tongue ! In fact, as much as 50% of the bacteria within the mouth can be found here. For bacteria the tongue is a lush velvet carpet in which they can escape the wrath of the toothbrush and dental floss.
In many countries it has long been a practice to use a device called a tongue cleaner (also commonly called a tongue scraper) to gently clean the tongue but the importance of this procedure is just being felt here in the United States.
During each brushing you should remove bacteria from your tongue with one of several commercially available tongue cleaners. What you will scrape off with the tongue cleaner is a whitish layer of bacteria, plaque, and food debris. This simple procedure can greatly improve the condition of your breath.
Saliva - Nature's Mouthwash
A very important fact to remember when battling bad breath is that saliva is our friend. A dry mouth represents the perfect environment for odor causing bacteria. Saliva acts as nature's mouthwash by keeping the mouth moist, washing away bacteria, and dissolving foul smelling volatile sulfur compounds.
Conditions which reduce saliva flow or which make our mouth dry can therefore lead to bad breath. In fact, the morning breath which many people experience after a long night of sleep is caused by the reduction in saliva flow that occurs when we sleep.
Dieting, fasting, or talking for long periods of time reduce saliva flow and contribute to bad breath. In addition, certain medications, alcohol consumption, and breathing through the nose during exercise cause dry mouth contributing to the problem.
How do you make sure your saliva flow is adequate and that your mouth stays moist ? Drink water. Saliva flow increases when we eat or drink. If you are dieting or fasting, drinking water is a good way to stimulate the flow of saliva. The water will also help wash away food and bacteria.
Placing a drop of lemon juice on the tip of your tongue or chewing sugarless gum are also effective ways to stimulate saliva flow. It is a commonly held notion in the medical community that mints and breath freshening gums work not by masking odor but by stimulating saliva flow.
Copyright 1998, 1999 - Market Access
Unfortunately, these simply do not work. First, the body becomes accustomed to its own odors. As a result, it becomes hard for you to objectively distinguish whether or not your breath odor is foul or not. Secondly, much of the foul breath is created at the back of the mouth and is expelled outward only when we talk.
How then do you tell if your breath offends ? Many dentists measure breath odor using an instrument called a halimeter. The patient blows into a straw like tube connected to the halimeter and the machine detects the levels of volatile sulfur compounds in the breath. The more volatile sulfur compounds measured by the machine the worst the breath.
If you do not want to use a halimeter the next best way to detect bad breath is to simply ask a trusted friend to tell you whether or not your breath is offensive.
The Tongue - Safe Haven for Bacteria
A major advancement in the treatment of bad breath has been the finding that bacteria which causes bad breath can reside on the tongue - especially the back of the tongue ! In fact, as much as 50% of the bacteria within the mouth can be found here. For bacteria the tongue is a lush velvet carpet in which they can escape the wrath of the toothbrush and dental floss.
In many countries it has long been a practice to use a device called a tongue cleaner (also commonly called a tongue scraper) to gently clean the tongue but the importance of this procedure is just being felt here in the United States.
During each brushing you should remove bacteria from your tongue with one of several commercially available tongue cleaners. What you will scrape off with the tongue cleaner is a whitish layer of bacteria, plaque, and food debris. This simple procedure can greatly improve the condition of your breath.
Saliva - Nature's Mouthwash
A very important fact to remember when battling bad breath is that saliva is our friend. A dry mouth represents the perfect environment for odor causing bacteria. Saliva acts as nature's mouthwash by keeping the mouth moist, washing away bacteria, and dissolving foul smelling volatile sulfur compounds.
Conditions which reduce saliva flow or which make our mouth dry can therefore lead to bad breath. In fact, the morning breath which many people experience after a long night of sleep is caused by the reduction in saliva flow that occurs when we sleep.
Dieting, fasting, or talking for long periods of time reduce saliva flow and contribute to bad breath. In addition, certain medications, alcohol consumption, and breathing through the nose during exercise cause dry mouth contributing to the problem.
How do you make sure your saliva flow is adequate and that your mouth stays moist ? Drink water. Saliva flow increases when we eat or drink. If you are dieting or fasting, drinking water is a good way to stimulate the flow of saliva. The water will also help wash away food and bacteria.
Placing a drop of lemon juice on the tip of your tongue or chewing sugarless gum are also effective ways to stimulate saliva flow. It is a commonly held notion in the medical community that mints and breath freshening gums work not by masking odor but by stimulating saliva flow.
Copyright 1998, 1999 - Market Access
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